Health & Fitness

Health & fitness - Notebook

June 10, 1997

Breast-feeding helps keep away infection

Breast milk protects babies from mild infections, and women who can breast-feed should do so at least some of the time, a new study says. The more breast milk consumed the less likely a baby will develop an ear infection or diarrhea in the first seven months of life compared with infants fed formula, said researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Previous studies have shown breast-feeding was beneficial to babies in developing countries, but research results were often contradictory in industrialized countries where overall nutrition and health care were better. In the United States, about 53 percent of women initiate breast-feeding.

Relaxation therapy may ease arthritis

Older people who continue to suffer the pain of arthritis despite taking medication and using other customary treatments should consider relaxation therapy. That recommendation may sound far out but comes from a committee of experts appointed by the National Institutes of Health. The committee says relaxation can reduce the pain of osteoarthritis, the most common form of the condition, because it slows the body's metabolic activity and relaxes muscle tension.

Among the relaxation techniques recommended by the experts: meditation (developing a better awareness of physical sensations and mental activities), deep breathing, guided imagery (keeping in mind a peaceful environment and comforting physical sensations) and biofeedback.

Advice on relaxation therapy is available from the Arthritis Foundation, (408) 872-7100.

Experts tell seniors:

Fight depression

University of Pennsylvania researchers have discovered biological changes in the brains of elderly people suffering from minor depression. Mental health experts said they hoped the findings, to be published in the Archives of Neurology, would encourage seniors to seek treatment for minor depression and not dismiss it as a byproduct of old age.

Smoking moms make their children sick

The United States as a whole spends about $661 million annually for treatment of young children's respiratory illness attributable to their mothers' smoking, according to a University of Wisconsin study. So, besides the health risks that smoking mothers create for their children, they also rack up higher medical expenses.

Fish oil supplements:

Experts are skeptical

Before you pop another fish oil supplement, you may want to know that in a recent study with pigs, fish oil failed to show any benefits over a similar plant-derived oil in reducing the fatty blockages in blood vessels. These fatty deposits can obstruct blood flow to the heart or brain, thereby causing heart attacks or strokes. In fact, according to researchers in the United States and Canada, fish oil supplementation led to somewhat higher blood levels of low-density-lipoproten (often called the ''bad'' cholesterol) while blood levels of high-density lipoprotein (the ''good'' cholesterol) were highest in pigs who received the other oil.

What does it all mean? The American Heart Association, which continues to advise people to eat fish regularly, does not recommend the general use of fish oil supplements until the benefits and risks of eating them are better defined by further research.